


demigods v. bullying (or how Robert Mainprize found being a teacher has strange perks)

by psychedelicbubblegum



Series: MASHverse [11]
Category: Ant-Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Avengers Family, BAMF Women, Cassie is Adorable, Dee is a Good Stepmum, F/M, Family, Fluff and Humor, Happiness and the Ant Fam!, M/M, Multi, Protective Dee, Robert Mainprize: Stressed Teacher, Scott is the Best Dad, demigods hate bullying, don't teach Cassie self-defense, let's just pretend Infinity War isn't happening..., she will use it on bullies, spoiler: no, this is literally just an anti-bullying ant man psa, will i ever stop dumb tags?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-01
Updated: 2018-04-01
Packaged: 2019-04-16 19:45:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14172129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/psychedelicbubblegum/pseuds/psychedelicbubblegum
Summary: All Robert Mainprize (aka the Nice, New Teacher) wanted was to stop a school bully. He didn't imagine Cassie Lang (or her father's girlfriend), would be the one's to help him accomplish this goal.





	demigods v. bullying (or how Robert Mainprize found being a teacher has strange perks)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Accidental_Ducky](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Accidental_Ducky/gifts).



> I only own Dee, Robert and anyone you can't recognise from the canon! Everything else belongs to the respective parties. (Even if my love for Paul Rudd never dwindles...)

Robert Mainprize had been finding the ability to repress a sigh increasingly difficult over the past fifteen minutes.

Two weeks. Two glorious weeks of uneventful bliss at Stallton Lane Elementary School – his first proper teaching placement – before all hell had broken loose. Hell taking a form in the shape of Cassie Lang.

She hadn’t looked like the typical troublemaking student – heck, until lunchtime, only a few hours ago (a simpler, easier time.), she hadn’t done anything that’d make her seem like she could be a troublemaker. Polite, helpful, always got on with her work, positive attitude, even if she was a little on the quieter side; Cassie hadn’t seemed like the type of kid who’d do something like...pulling a wrestling move on an older student in the playground after he’d tried taking her lunch money.

Part of Robert had been secretly holding back some pride, he’d admitted that to himself.

Douglas Barneski was a bully; almost every teacher at the school had told him that the day he’d begun. Luckily he’d been rescued from the boys terrible reputation by getting the class a couple grades lower down – and thankfully had no chance of encountering him as he’d surpassed fourth grade already (despite having to repeat) – but there was a certain aurora that seemed to circle around the boy and it’d spilled into almost every interaction he’d had at the school so far. Plenty of other children in his class – not Cassie Lang, who didn’t seem like the sort to really feel comfortable reporting something – had come in after lunch times, faces pale, often tear stained, sometimes with red markings still stinging on their arms or fledgling bruises clustering around their ankles; all bestowed upon them by Douglas.

His reputation of stealing other children’s lunch money – despite the fact he had plenty of his own – had become so prevalent by day three of Robert’s job that he’d taken to bringing in a tin of biscuits; simply to hand out to the victims of the boys’ petty greed in small stacks. Then again, maybe gluttony wasn’t the boys true motive. Initially Robert had assumed so – the kid was massive for his age; taller and broader shouldered than even the boys’ in the classes above him. What with his large biceps that squeezed out of his shirt sleeves, thick fingers forever clenched into fists, those fattened cheeks which seemed to swamp his small, glittering eyes, partially hidden by a mop of near colourless brown hair – but after hearing numerous stories, the truth had become more centred around a far more unsettling idea. Douglas seemed to just enjoy being a bully. It was a simple – and ugly – as that.

No matter how many detentions handed out or warnings from Mr Donalbeck, the headmaster; nothing seemed to have scared the boy off his campaign of terror and an acceptance of sorts seemed to have fallen across the school. The kind of droning acceptance Robert had privately dreaded would await him in his dream career.

Aiden had assured him it’d go fine, that he’d have nothing to worry about and the school as going to be as normal as normal could be. In some ways, his husband had been right. Nothing really stood out about Stallton. The classrooms were as organised as young children allowed them to be; assemblies simple and avoiding difficult topics to frighten the students or cause them to have existential crisis; playground largely spaced and stained with chalk marks and scuffing’s of shoes. But it was the complacency with students such as Douglas Barneski that revealed the true sullen mentality that’d seeped into the bones of the staff (and student body itself until now).

And deep down Robert knew the complaints of the newest teacher weren’t going to be acknowledged or taken into account. In actuality, it’d likely shoot him into the position of outlander for trying to shake the status quo. The staff had done everything they assumed they could have with Barneski. Now it was simply up for the kids to fend for themselves against him.

Cassandra Lang seemed to have been the one student who’d really taken this subliminal message to heart; not like Barneski’s parents had shown any levels of understanding.

“And who on earth  _taught_  that girl how to do that?” Reba Barneski had demanded upon thundering into Robert’s classroom, face reddened with a mixture of what seemed to be fury and poorly applied blusher. Her stack of bottle blonde hair was piled on top of her head in an intricate series of folds eventually resembling a bun and her sickly pink lipstick was quivering from the way her lips were vibrating in anger. Her son had instantly launched himself at her large stomach – covered in a leopard print blouse that’d clashed unflatteringly with her denim jacket and had the unfortunate side effect of emphasising her weight – and buried his face into it, bawling in a manner that’d made Robert cringe. It was hard to empathise with a kid who spent his days making those smaller, younger and generally weaker than him suffer twice as badly.

“From what I know it was Cassie’s fathers’ girlfriend who-” Robert had barely managed to get the words out before Mrs Barneski was launching herself at him, sticking her mottled face far close for comfort in his pale, slimmer own, watery grey eyes burning into his cornflower blue.

“Scott Lang!?” She wailed dramatically, as she took a couple steps back to wave her arms around theatrically. Behind where this performance was occurring, Robert could vaguely make out Cassie attempting to hide a small smile at what was an undeniably amusing performance as far as she was concerned. “You mean that violent criminal people heralded as a hero for becoming some costumed lunatic?” She boomed, eyes bulging in a mixture of horror and evident fury. “You allow someone like that to have contact with their child-”

“Mrs Barneski.” Robert interrupted as bravely as he could, one hand carding through his caramel curly mop of hair as his one hand nervously played with the end of his shirt sleeve (a periwinkle blue Aiden had always claimed bought out violet undertones in his eyes, which were currently blinking curiously). “It really isn’t anything to do with the school on whether or not Mr Lang sees his daughter. A court has deemed him safe and, as I said, it wasn’t  _him_  who taught her how to-”

“Oh so you’re letting whatever painted up tart dressed in a bikini he’s met through that so called job of his have influence on children now are you?” Her tone was close to screaming now and Robert almost wanted to reply that if anyone seemed to have an inappropriate influence on children, it was Reba Barneski herself. That wasn’t counting all the rumours he’d heard about her propositioning male members of staff at parents evenings...usually after she’d shown up drunk.

“Mrs Barneski-” Robert began attempting to reply, but before he could, the classroom door was shoved open and he was saved from having his eardrums burst for a couple of seconds.

“Sorry I’m late.” The woman who’d entered the room sighed, pushing a pair of sunglasses upwards to pull her hair away from her face and nestle amounts mounds of golden blond curls. Her large, dark green eyes scanned the room before settling on where Robert had been edging himself away from Reba Barneski as carefully as possible. Her figure was complimented nicely by her wrap around dress that ended slightly above the knee, a dusty lavender coloured fabric dotted in a pink and white floral pattern; posture strong backed despite the wooden sandals upon her feet, giving her a few extra inches to her height. A single silver pendant – depicting a longbow – hung around her neck as she played gently with the ends of her glossy hair, surveying the situation carefully as her teeth briefly appeared to nibble her lip. “Something at work came up-”

“Dee!” Cassie was out of her chair – where she’d formerly been sat, swinging her legs and nervously nibbling her own lip – before she even finished speaking; showing an impressive amount of speed and gymnastic ability as she reached the woman (Dee – Scott’s girlfriend, Robert assumed) in under three seconds and launched herself off the floor into the slender woman’s arms.

For a brief moment Robert was worried the weight of a small child – even if she was rocketing at someone who apparently knew how to teach children professional level self-defence – against a woman who didn’t seem to have put on much muscle (despite her apparent interests) was going to end in yet more flooring; but instead, Dee’s arms wrapped tightly around Cassie’s small form, fingers burying themselves in the ends of her hazel coloured tresses.

“Hey, Cass!” She greeted warmly as her arms wound a little tighter against the lilac of Cassie’s jumper and she allowed the girl to bury her head into a slim shoulder. It was around then she seemed to sense the waves of fury reignited in Reba Barneski (whose pale eyes had widened for the briefest of seconds before setting themselves back into an outraged glower) – now she’d laid eyes upon the culprit for providing a ‘violent hooligans’ daughter wrestling skills. There was also likely jealousy mixed in – coming face to face with a smaller, younger, prettier woman; the kind that Robert had suspected Reba Barneski harboured towards half other the playground mothers’, if the way she stood off by herself at the end of the school day indicated anything. Then again, when your son was the school bully, it wasn’t exactly expected you’d be invited to the weekly coffee morning.

“Ms…” Robert spoke up, cutting in before another explosive tirade could be launched into by the woman; that and he really needed to know what to actually  _call_  the woman who’d likely soon be purchasing school play tickets off him.

“Noxhelm.” Was the reply he was given. “Delia Noxhelm.”

A lightbulb (maybe this time literal) roared to life inside Robert’s brain, as she added “call me Dee, though” and walked towards him (and the Barneski’s), still carrying Cassie, who was clinging to her akin to how a baby capuchin would do as its mother glided amongst the Amazonian tree tops. It seemed Cassie had decided sticking with Dee was the safest way to not get wailed at by Douglas Barneski, or his nightmarish mother. Then again Robert couldn’t quite tell if the boy had enough common sense to keep away from the girl who’d decked him. Or her potential stepmother – who’s sister could potentially have held the prestigious honour of being Mona ‘The Knockdown’ Noxhelm.

“This is about lunch time isn’t it…” Dee began to speak as her eyes fell upon Reba Barneski and her son, the former of whom had mottled to a near maroon shade as she had become increasingly acquainted with the soft beauty of the younger woman’s high cheekbones and heart shaped lips.

At that precise moment, Mrs Barneski exploded into another speech.

“You mean when that little _monster_  tried to break the neck of my poor baby?” She screeched, and once again Robert found himself attempting to back away. This time to save his hearing if nothing else, as he seemed fairly certain if she was going to try tackling anyone, Dee Noxhelm now had that prestigious honour. “A form of attack I understand  _you_  taught her!”

“Mrs Barneski if you could please keep your voice down-” Robert began to speak up, but before she rounded on him and began attempting more vocal annihilation, Dee raised an eyebrow and replied.

“I taught Cassie that because she came home scared telling me some boy several grades above her was stealing from and hurting her friends.” Came the reply – surprisingly measured considering  she was facing off against the type of parent Robert had nightmares about whilst at university. “I don’t suppose you’re aware of the fact the day before your son had come up to her and threatened to ‘squash her like a bug’ the following day?” She added, gaze flickering down towards Douglas, who was now attempting to squeeze himself behind his mothers’ fleshy leg and avoid being stared at.

It seemed being confronted by an adult he didn’t know well was something Douglas couldn’t handle. Typical – Robert only just about stopped himself from muttering that under his breath.

“Well, Mrs Barneski?” Robert took this as a que to step back into his position as teacher, and potential referee. “You must be aware your son has received numerous warnings about his bullying of other children’s – typically those in the grades below him. Mr Donalbeck did inform me there have been _several_  meetings about this matter already.” He added, folding his arms over his chest.

The redness coating Reba Barneski’s cheeks had subsided somewhat then – paling more into an embarrassed scarlet than an enraged crimson.

“I’m guessing your son knows what Cassie’s dad works as, and he’s at the age now where I presume he’s smart enough to have some idea of my job considering I met Scott through work.” Dee continued, her eyes shining with a dangerous amount of dissatisfied scorn. “If anyone’s child had come to me, friend, relative of my partner’s – scared because an older and considerably larger child had begun promising to hurt them – I would’ve shown them the exact same move. It’s clear your son doesn’t care about being punished by the school as it’s not the first time she mentioned him in relation to bullying, so I just wanted to ensure he learnt his lesson about judging those who were smaller and younger than him. Really, Cassie was just defending herself,” at that mentioning, dark eyes peered up from where they’d been pressed into a shoulder and stared upon the large, ruddy woman who was simmering opposite them. “Your son came up to her, he tried to steal her money – she was defending herself and her property. That’s right, isn’t it?” She asked Robert as she looked at him, softening as she met his gaze.

“Yes.” He nodded as he turned back to Mrs Barneski. “As I was trying to say,” he cleared his throat. “Cassie is going to have to be kept inside for a few break times, but Mrs Barneski, your son was the one who instigated this; and it hasn’t been the first time-”

“So you’re going to take her side are you!?” Reba roared in what seemed to be (misplaced) indignation. “Just because she shows up all smiles, clearly trying to flirt her way into your good books?!” She was seething so intensely, Robert almost expected her to begin foaming at the mouth. Douglas had continued in his own attempt to imitate Ant Man’s size changing abilities – but so far, appeared to be failing, as he continued to poke out from behind his mother, every bit the same large, fleshy ball wrapped in denim.

“Mrs Barneski I’m gay.” Robert replied flatly. This wasn’t the first time some furious parent had begun claiming any pretty mother who spoke to him was trying to get her way into his pants. “If Cassie’s parents plan was to seduce me into agreeing, Scott Lang would’ve showed up to talk to me, presumably wearing his superhero costume as it’s tight and leather.” Cassie let out a near inaudible snort of laughter at that, from where she was clearly hiding her grin in Dee’s dress sleeve. “And even if that wasn’t the case,” he added. “I have to take into account the facts. Your son has a history of bullying smaller students, taking their lunch money, and I have no doubt he approached Cassandra the day before, threatening to hurt her, even mentioning something she clearly associates with her father – insects – to frighten her more so. If it was up to me, your son would have to apologise to my entire class, as I’m fairly certain more than half of them have been on the end of his poor treatment of his peers.”

All the accumulated colour seemed to be draining from Reba Barneski’s face by this point. It was clear she’d presumed hollering and bellowing enough at the ‘just qualified’ staff member would force him into taking her side, suspending Cassandra Lang for standing up for herself (as well as other small children at Stallton), maybe even offering her son some sort of preferential treatment to prevent this ordeal happening to them again. But with the facts nowhere near in Douglas’ favour, she seemed to have run out of arguments as she gazed back down at her wilted soon, who seemed to be one step away from throwing himself on the floor and slithering under the nearest desk.

“It is not up to me however,” Robert added. “And after a discussion with Mr Donalbeck we came to the decision Cassie would be suspended from recess for three days, staying inside the classroom with me. Your son on the other hand,” his blue eyes sort out Douglas Barneski’s near colourless one’s now, which were reddening with the oncoming tears his bulbous mother was going to be subjected too once they had passed the threshold of the classroom. “Will be suspended from recess for a week. He’ll he banned for an entire month if he decides to resume his bullying once this probation period ends, and if that doesn’t teach him to treat others’ nicely, we’ll have to discuss a formal suspension.”

Douglas looked as if he was about to faint – the weight of his behaviour finally crashing down upon him in a brutal collapse; but Robert found it hard to grant the boy too much sympathy. ‘You need to toughen up, Rob’ Aiden had told him as he’d nervously adjusted his tie for the seventh time, all those weeks back on the morning of his first proper day. ‘You can’t let those kids walk all over you, especially if they’ve done something wrong!’. And he’d been right (like Aiden always tended to be). Douglas Barneski hadn’t learned his lesson for at least seven years. Maybe now he’d get something close to a wakeup call in the form of the new, young, seemingly soft fourth grade teacher who handed out biscuits and who came in early to help the dyslexic students copy up anything they’d missed.

“Come on, Dougie!” Reba announced after the shocked silence had begun to dissipate. Wrapping up one of her son’s pudgy hands in her own, she began dragging him towards the door; cheeks beginning to redden as her son’s weight increased the difficulty level of this particular task. “We’ll be speaking to the school board about this!” She hissed as she reached the doorway, one hand wrapping around the handle, and the poor door was wrenched back so violently, Robert was amazed the mistreated structure wasn’t yanked off its hinges and left to fall to the floor with a pathetic groan. “You won’t forget this, Mr Mainprize! Mark my words!”

With that final threat, Reba Barneski pulled her son through the open space and sped out into the hallway, disappearing out of sight as the first signs of Douglas’ wails could begin to be heard as the dam of tears finally snapped under emotional strain.

As the scraping of heels began to fade away into the distance, Cassandra turned her head back towards the door and stuck her tongue out, the distinctive blare of a raspberry being blown echoing throughout the newfound quiet blanket draped across the classroom.

“Cassie!” Dee half-heartedly sighed, but her own small grin as a dead giveaway as to her true feelings on the matter. And if that hadn’t been an indicator, the laughter she poorly attempted to stop with a snort broke that illusion. “’Mark my words’,” she echoed, smirking down at the child still effortlessly held in her arms. “What does she think this is? An episode of Scooby Doo?”

“Can’t be,” the words slipped out before Robert could stop himself and continue the façade of responsible adult. “We don’t even have a mangy dog for her to include in her cursing.”

For a brief second, Dee Noxhelm looked a little shocked Robert – as if she couldn’t quite believe Cassie’s own teacher was taking their side on this matter – before her smile returned, albeit a little sheepish.

“Look,” she sighed. “I’m… _really_  sorry about that. You having to put up with some mad woman thanks to my choices. I know teaching Cassie professional wrestling moves to stop a bully wasn’t the best idea, but at the time I think I was more appalled someone like that kid could’ve threatened someone so viciously when they’d done nothing to them.” Robert didn’t fail to notice how her hand came up to stroke Cassie’s hair instinctively then, as the girl snuggled into her embrace more. “And y’know, I thought if he got taken down by one kid, he might stop going for the smaller ones. It um…worked for me when I was at elementary school.”

“Noxhelm…” Robert muttered as his brow furrowed slightly. “Are you-”

“Daughter of the Knockout? Sister of the Knockdown?” Dee improvised. “Yeah. Kasper Noxhelm’s my dad and Mona Noxhelm’s my big sister! You um…probably now know how I managed to teach someone of Cassie’s age that particular move. I’d already learnt it by the time I was four. And I was even smaller than she is at seven.” She added with a wry smile. “Takes away some of my mystique huh?”

“At least I now know this isn’t some new fad amongst small children.” Robert replied with a smile of his own now properly forming. “Means I won’t have more of the likes of Reba Barneski coming in and demanding I defend their bully kids.”

“Is she always like that?” Dee asked as she quickly glanced back towards the doorway. “Willing to defend her son til’ the ends of the earth and threaten teachers?”

“From the horror stories I’ve been told, yeah.” Robert replied with a slight sigh. “She’s the kind of parent you think doesn’t exist as they’re like the bogeyman of the teacher training course. You don’t want to admit they’re real…’til you meet one.” For a second he paused before nibbling his lower lip. “I’m um…not gonna have to worry about SHIELD busting into the staffroom to interrogate us all, am I?”

Dee shook her head. “Nah. They’d only do that if I’d told Cassie to sick a rabid hoard of ants on the kid…” She paused herself then. “Scott did suggest that but I managed to talk him out of it. Bit too high-profile, plus Hope’d kill him for tarnishing her dad’s good name.” She added with a slight smile, more to herself, before fixing her eyes back to Robert. “Are you a fan of my dad by any chance? I’ve met people in all sorts of places who seem to worship the ground he walks on.”

“Um…” Robert felt his own cheeks flush a little. “Yeah. I was. ‘Specially when I was younger. Andy, my big brother, and I loved wrestling. We used to watch your dad’s matches all the time...” He trailed off, but Dee was merely smiling warmly.

“Don’t worry, I’m not gonna use that to get Cassie off if she pulls this trick again.” She told him, looking down at the girl who was staring between them. “No more flipping people over your shoulder, bean. As fun as it might be, save that for when we let you lose on Spiderman.” Cassie giggled then as Dee rested her eyes back on the young teacher. “Thanks,” she told him gently, smile glowing as she resumed their conversation. “A lot of people would just try have her suspended – or even expelled – for sticking up to some bully. Scott mentioned you’d personally convinced the head teacher Cassie had been provoked, and most people would want an easier ride than having to argue for a child.”

“Part of being a teacher.” Robert couldn’t help let the words slip out before they did. “Aiden – my husband – jokes I don’t have much of a regard for rules as much as I love being one but...it means I have to do the right thing. And that kid seems to be a menace. Hopefully this will put him on the step in the direction of not bullying other kids.”

“Still, thank you.” Dee told him, pulling Cassie up a bit from where she’d been sliding down as the blonde’s arms had relaxed their grip around her. “Here,” she managed to somehow shove one hand into the bag slung over her shoulder and keep Cassie upright. If Robert didn’t know her profession – and now her background – he would’ve fainted (stress of Reba Barneski and all finally defeating him). Producing a small card she handed it over to him. “It’s my work phone number, as I don’t carry around my home one on me. But...you like wrestling, and you seem like a decent guy, so I could get you in touch with Mona sometime. Let you ask her all you want about wrestling – maybe help you learn how to fend off over zealous or just plain scary parents.” She joked, eyes glittering with mirth. “Again, you seriously helped out Cassie when not many others would...so, don’t say you don’t deserve it.”

“Wow, um,” Robert’s voice was drying up by the second. This was going to be one hell of a story for Aiden when he got home...For once he might actually see his husband – who was always the unfair cool collection that seemed to overwhelm the general being of a graphic designer – look flustered. “Thanks! Um, thank you so much-”

He was at such a loss for words, a man dressed in a red and black costume, clutching a helmet that resembled an ants head felt halfway near to normal at that precise moment.

“Daddy!” Cassie announced as she pulled back from Dee slightly to greet him, ruffled hair swinging in the wind as a grin plastered itself across her face.

“Sorry I’m late!” Scott Lang was a lot more flustered than you imagined a superhero would ever look showing up at their daughters’ school. “There was this thing, work, giant crazy half-otter – or was it stoat? – men, trying to eat some politician, almost got my leg bit off…” He only trailed off when he noticed the look of utter shock fresh upon Robert’s face, and the slightly bemused smile on Dee’s lips.

“Crazy half-otter, possibly stoat, men with a blood lust for political figures and ravenous taste for size changing, bug themed superheroes meant you couldn’t come get shouted at by some bully kids’ nightmare mother?” Dee suggested as she raised an eyebrow at him.

“Yeah, yeah, we’ll go with that.” Ant Man nodded as his eyes fell upon Robert. “Um hi, I’m…Cassie’s dad.”

“Dee came and she and Mr Mainprize stopped me getting in more trouble, daddy!” Cassie prompted, still grinning. “They were  _so_  brave! Douglas Barneski’s mom was really scary, she was like some red troll lady-”

“Cassie!” Even if Scott Lang had been properly trying to hide the grin – or the delight in his voice – it wouldn’t have done much good considering how proud he looked.

“She does have a point…” Dee added. “That woman was dangerously red. I was worried she was about to have some kind of heart attack, she got so incensed.” She turned back to Robert, eyes widened somewhat. “Um, could you please not mention I just said that to her?”

“No, it’s no problem.” Robert shook his head quickly. Being threatened by a furious woman one step away from boiling like a kettle and then having a publically celebrated superhero stroll into your classroom was enough to throw any teacher through the ringer, right? “Like I said, there does have to be some sort of consequence for what happened – even if it wasn’t her fault. I just didn’t want people to think-”

“The school system’s scared of superhero parents and is willing to bend to their will?” Dee offered with a wry smile.

“Something like that, yeah.” Robert replied. Was it always going to be so difficult to act normal whenever Scott Lang showed up at his school? The man’s  _girlfriend_  had just given him a number so she could get him in contact with her family. Did superhero culture just work that way?

Dee’s brow furrowed somewhat as she glanced back in Scott’s direction; the ivy tone of her eyes shimmering, whirring round, emerald cogs turning, churning, then a burst of glitter as realisation hit her.

“You’re in a hurry, aren’t you, Lang?” She addressed her partner with a proud smile as she arched an eyebrow at him.

“What?” Scott’s own eyebrows shot upwards, as he blinked quickly. “How’d you-”

“You haven’t forced Mr Mainprize through any of your dad jokes yet.” Dee replied with a contented smirk, letting out a small breath of laughter as it blossomed into a full grin. “And you  _always_  have a bad pun prepared when meeting new people...unless you’ve been distracted by something else. And if you’ve just been at work then...” She trailed off, raising her eyebrow once more, even if the smile tugging at the edges of her lips gave a different impression.

“SammayhavecomewithmetoseeCassie.”

“Sam!?” It appeared Cassie had been able to decipher at least one part of the verbal puzzle Scott’s words had managed to form. “You’ve bought Uncle Sam with you?”

As if psychic, Dee let go of Cassie before she’d even began attempting to surge forwards out of her arms, and once more she shot across the carpet to throw her hands around Scott’s arm, beaming up at him. “He’s really here?” She seemed somewhere between starstruck and overjoyed.

“’Course he is, peanut.” Her father replied as he knelt down to meet her eyes, wrapping one arm around her shoulder as she leaned against him. “And this time, he’s got time off, so you can ask him as many questions you want about being able to fly!”

Cassie’s eyes widened in delight as she turned back to Dee and grinned, prompting the blonde woman to look back at Robert. “Is it alright if she goes now?” She asked. “Sorry about the whole leaving you to fill in some report about this...” She paused and her brow furrowed. “If teachers actually do that. And I promise, she won’t be re-enacting a smack down on any more of her classmates. At least, not with anything I’ve personally taught her.”

“No, no, it’s fine.” Robert replied quickly. “In some ways I guess you and Cassie did the school a favour. He’ll think twice before going for some kid again. It’s fine for you to go if something’s come up. I didn’t really see much point in having this conversation anyways but…regulations and all.” He shrugged, hoping he didn’t seem too pitiful in his acceptance of Cassie’s actions.

Dee grinned at him. “Feel free to give me a ring any time you wanna get in touch with Mona.” She added as she walked back over to where Cassie seemed to be gently edging towards the open doorway, hand now wound tightly in her dad’s as she looked between him, Dee and her teacher.

“You have a business card?” Scott asked her, eyes widening as they locked on the slither Robert was clutching, as he moved to stand up straight once more.

“’Course I do.” Dee replied with a small laugh. “You’re not the only one who’s capable of charming phone numbers out of me, Scott. Granted you got mine written on your forearm – you didn’t get the actual card.” She added as she reached him, wrapping her arms around him tightly. It was thoughtful in a lot of unspoken ways – Robert had been subjected to many a parent couple snogging in front of him. Seeing Scott Lang of all people do that might be a bit too much of an acid trip after all his stresses.

One of those still gloved arms wound its way around Delia’s back tightly, the other still holding a small hand, burying his face into her spiralling golden curls, gently pushing them away from her neck. Cassie was watching the whole situation like it was a magical Disney prince-princess moment. That was unique, Robert had to admit that. Most kids tended to seem uncomfortable about their parent and possible step parent being physically close, but maybe Cassie’s experience with her mom’s fiancé had made her less averse than some of the others Robert had encountered. Personal friends included.

Pulling back, for a moment there was a brief pause – in which Scott Lang and Dee Noxhelm exchanged the sort of look you felt a little uncomfortable to watch. Almost as if you were intruding upon some sort of deeply intimate moment that only they (and Cassie) had the right to be involved in. But if either of them were unhappy about Robert’s presence, it didn’t seem to faze them. At least not now.

Turning back towards Cassie once the eye contact broke, Dee grinned down at her.  “Cass, promise Mr Mainprize you won’t go beating up people to prove your future as a superhero?” She asked the little girl, mirth overwhelming her tone.

“Promise!” Cassie nodded earnestly, eyes locked on Robert, who couldn’t help but smile gently at her earnestness.

“Nice meeting you both.” Robert added quickly, looking between her parents (no-one could convince him otherwise now that Cassie didn’t somehow view Dee as another mom, even if that term hadn’t been used). “Even if it was a bit brief, Mr Lang.”

“Next time I could-” Scott began to reply.

“No landing Quinjets in playgrounds.” Dee cut him off. “Remember what happened when we did that for Heathers’ nieces dance show? How much that parking fine totalled? Fury almost grounded everyone!”

“...I can come in on career day?” Was the second route he tried, flashing his girlfriend a hopeful smile that made her smile, a small pinkness staining her cheeks as their eyes met.

“Um, sure, thanks!” Robert replied quickly. Was bringing in a superhero for career day going to cause more drama? Probably. Did Robert particularly mind if it made the kids happy and got them thinking about positive change? Absolutely not. “I’ll…see you both later?”

“Oh yeah,” Dee replied as Cassie finally succeeded in leading Scott out the classroom. “Probably when I start teaching her kickboxing. Promise she’ll only practice that one on bullies though.” She flashed a grin as she winked at him, walking out into the hallway then, where Cassie’s excited voice echoed, delight lingering on her words.

“C’mon, Dee, I want to show Uncle Sam my tarantula drawing!”

**Author's Note:**

> If you want an FC/ideal actress for Dee, I point you in the direction of the beautiful Emilia Fox! Not only did she entertain me in Merlin, but she was amazing in Rebecca alongside Charles Dance - check the woman out. (And be expected for more Scott Lang and his Demigod Girlfriend). Hope is happily their wingwoman ;)
> 
> Happy Easter!


End file.
